Tired of Father’s Day gift ideas that are all cuff links and grilling and alcohol? Me too, which is why I teamed up with Olivia of Atiliay (again) to come up with some super cute—super original—Father’s Day DIY gift ideas for kids to make for their dads.

I’ve been trying so hard to let go of the whole Pinterest-perfect mentality. You know what I mean, right? The idea that everything you do (or worse, everything your kids do) has to be flawless and worthy of all of the social media shares. It’s easy to get swept up in it, but I want to call bullshit. It’s way too much pressure. And for what?

When it comes to kids DIYs, they get pleasure out of the doing: getting their hands dirty and experimenting and putting their heart into something. But what fun is there in making something if mommy is hovering around trying to “fix” everything? Just take a deep breath and let them do their thing. It will mean more to everyone if you do.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to start off with an awesome base, which is what I did with each of these three ideas. Olivia was sweet enough to design a free printable for us based off of her sweet Father’s Day card.

Father’s Day DIY for Kids #1: The Preschool / Toddler Painting

Let’s be honest, friends. If you’ve seen a photo of a really gorgeous DIY done by a tiny child, you can bet your butt it was actually done by his or her momma. Toddlers and preschoolers could give two shits about precision. They’re just happy to be doing. And you know what? That’s the beauty of their age. As crazy as they might drive you, they are fighting fiercely to do more and more. Why try to mask that? Just let the little buggers do their thing.

There are a couple of ways you can attack this. All of them start out with card stock (because paper is way too delicate for these bite-sized tyrants). If you have a real little one, give them a couple of pieces of card stock and somewatercolors and let them have at it. Once their masterpieces have dried completely, choose your favorite, put it upside down in your printer tray and print Atiliay’s pretty design on top. If madness ensues while painting (which, let’s be real, it might), you can always use an older piece of artwork or try again later with crayons, markers or colored pencils.

If your child is a little bit older, you might be brave enough to print the design on card stock first and then let them try and color or paint it in themselves.

Will it be Pinterest worthy? Probably not. But it will definitely melt any dad’s heart.

Father’s Day DIY for Kids #2: The DIY Notebook

Maybe dad likes to draw. Or maybe he writes. Maybe he takes a lot of notes at work. If any of these are true, a cute semi-homemade notebook is a gift he might be able to use. And if not, your kids can totally make him play restaurant with it.

I picked up a mini unruled notebook (4 x 5.75 in) at Dollar Tree that was perfect for a little transformation. I printed out Atiliay’s design (notebook size) on card stock and cut it down to size by tracing the cover of the notebook with a pencil and using my beloved paper trimmer.

Once it was the right size, I handed it over to my nine year old to work her magic. She colored in the design meticulously while watching one of her favorite shows on the Disney Channel and listening intently for my husband’s footsteps.

Once it was all colored in, we used Mod Podge to glue it to the cover of the notebook. To get extra fancy (because that’s how we do), we added some washi tape to the top.

Father’s Day DIY for Kids #3: All About Dad Book

Alright, so this might not be the most original idea on the list. But it’s cute and, in my world, open-ended fill in the blanks for kids always win. Again, this idea can totally be adapted to age level. Obviously, kids who can’t talk can’t exactly fill in the blanks. But moms can get creative and fill in funny things they think their kids would say and let the babe color all over the final result.

For this project we used two pieces of construction paper and three pieces of card stock. First, I printed out the notebook size Atiliay printable as well as the two dad book pdfs. I trimmed them down and again handed them over to Samantha. She worked hard filling in all of the blanks and then colored in the cover page.

When she was done, we used a glue stick to attach each of the pieces of card stock to the construction paper, leaving the first page in our little “book” blank so that we can add in a photo. Of course, my girl also decided to frame everything in washi tape.

When it comes to attaching the pages, a stapler will do the trick. Older kids could also try their hand at sewing or lacing the pages together with embroidery thread or yarn.

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Jen is a freelance writer and girl mom from New York. When she's not knee-deep in glittery crafts and girl talk, you can probably find her sprawled across her couch in the middle of a Netflix marathon with dark chocolate smeared on her face. The struggle is real.

4 Comments

I love how all the projects turned out– so adorable and such great ideas! Your girls did an awesome job! 🙂 I also really like how toddlers can get involved, I thought painting on paper first then printing was genius! And It’s so true about feeling like we need to be Pinterest perfect– I feel like there’s so much pressure in everything (home, projects, food, etc.) to look amazing ALL the time which is just not real life. Thanks for pointing that out and reminding us what it’s really about– letting your kids be creative and spending some quality time together to make a thoughtful gift for dad. Totally looking forward to our next collaboration!

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about the momma

Hi! I'm Jen, a freelance writer and girl mom who loves reading the newest children’s books as much as I love a good psychological thriller. I believe fiercely in the power of kindness, empathy, and really good quality chocolate. When I'm not knee-deep in glittery crafts and girl talk, you can probably find me sprawled out on my couch in the middle of a Netflix marathon with dark chocolate smeared on my face. The struggle is real. Learn more about me here.

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